Twelve Way Body Switch
by racle
Summary: UPDATED AND REVISED - Voldemort's curse causes Harry and his friends to switch bodies with Voldemort and his most notorious Death Eaters. Now Voldemort and his underlings will be hailed as heroes, while Harry and co. are blamed for Voldemort's crimes.
1. Discovery

Twelve Way Body Switch (!)

Summary: What happens when Voldemort deliberately traps Harry and his friends in the bodies of Death Eaters? Each of them is trapped in the body of the Death Eater they hate the most. And Voldemort and his Death Eaters now get to control Harry and his friends' bodies. If his plan goes off right, Voldemort (in Harry's body) would be hailed as the hero of the war while Harry & co will be arrested as Death Eaters!

REVISED/UPDATED – follows Book 7 up to Peter Pettigrew's death. In this version, Wormtail is not killed by his silver hand, and participates in the Final Battle as a Death Eater.

Chapter 1

Voldemort looked around. He was surrounded. Only a small number of his most capable subordinates still remained; sparing a quick glance behind him, there was Wormtail on his right, reflecting every oncoming spell with his silver arm; Antonin Dolohov on his left keeping several opponents back with a sea of purple flames; then Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy lighting it up with Imperios and dark magic; then Bellatrix at his back stoutly holding a strong Protego against a withering barrage of the children's Expelliarmuses and Stunners. Only these five remained at their Lord's side, the bodies of nearly three hundred fallen Death Eaters scattered throughout the battlefield.

Everything had gone as well as could be expected up until a few minutes ago. The Death Eaters were slowly but surely winning the battle, and they closed in on the Great Hall from all sides the end was clearly near. Then, suddenly, Voldemort's men were surprised from behind by dozens of Order of the Phoenix reinforcements pouring in from Hogsmeade. Now it was the Death Eaters who were surrounded, and while Voldemort himself continued to dispatch all comers, his Death Eaters inexorably fell one by one against the sheer numbers of their enemies.

Voldemort had anticipated this possibility, and prepared a last-resort spell for just this situation. "Death Eaters!" he yelled, "Retreat to the Forbidden Forest!" He raised his wand high in the air and shouted an incomprehensible incantation that none of the teachers or students had heard before. Suddenly a big flash went off from the tip of his wand, illuminating the bodies of the Death Eaters as well as everyone around him. When the flash of light had died down, the last six survivors of the dark army were gone.

Among the circle of Hogwarts students, relatives, teachers, and Order members, the jubilation was muted. Voldemort, though defeated, had escaped to fight another day. The survivors of the Light immediately began to organize for a massive search. Kingsley Shacklebolt had overheard Voldemort's last orders to his followers. The school grounds and the Forbidden Forest were cordoned off in short order, and now began the harrowing task of closing the cordon around the escaped Death Eaters.

* * *

The Death Eaters had, in fact, returned to Malfoy Manor; Voldemort had been bluffing to misdirect the inevitable search for them following their hasty retreat. It had worked better than any of them thought; they had hidden for some five entire days at their old headquarters – the one place they would be least expected to hide – as the Order and the Aurors combed every inch of the Forbidden Forest looking for them. "The curse is going to take effect tonight, then?"

"Yes," Voldemort said, "I had not thought we would escape for so long. I had anticipated it taking effect a few days into our prison sentences. So tonight we will sleep well. Tomorrow, be prepared to awake in the bodies of our enemies. We shall be heroes to the world for the next hundred years. Our enemies shall answer for our crimes. And we will have a fresh start, you may choose to live out the lives of heroes, or ruin them, however you wish."

Voldemort turned to three other men who had fortituously turned up after the battle. These three Snatchers had escaped from Hogwarts separately, having been stunned near the outskirts of the grounds, and Voldemort planned to reward them for all they had done for his lost (for now) cause. "Tomorrow, Potter and his friends will wake up in our bodies," he told them, "they will be disoriented and should be easy prey for you. Use some of our masks to confuse them further. Capture them and turn them over to the Aurors, and receive your reward from the Ministry. May your lives be fruitful."

It was not a moment too soon; that night, the Aurors finished their search of the Forbidden Forest, and had come up empty; Kingsley and his newly reorganized Auror department was planning to raid the old pureblood families the next day to look for their prey.

Lucius Malfoy had only two remaining ties to his old life. It had been a hard life recently and he was eager to start over. One final owl to his wife and son safely hidden at their summer house in France carried the legal documents, by which Lucius would formally divorce Narcissa and sign his entire estate over to Draco – including the owl, which he had ordered not to return. Whichever of Harry Potter's friends ended up in his body would find himself a destitute, hunted fugitive.

Lucius cackled to himself quietly as he blew out his lamp and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Voldemort awoke in Harry's bed at the Burrow.

_Ah, so Harry's been living with the Weasleys,_ he thought. If he had known before, he could have organized a summer raid on the Burrow. He looked around, then at his new body. He felt a sense of youth and vitality that he had missed for many years, and he felt invigorated with a tremendous amount of energy. He jumped out of bed excited, looking for a bathroom. He found one soon enough and looked at himself in the mirror: green eyes, messy dark hair, a handsome figure that quite resembled his original form as Tom Riddle. Satisfied, he returned to his room and put on some of Harry's clothes.

In the room right above Harry's (or now, Voldemort's), Rodolphus Lestrange opened his eyes. He looked at himself. He didn't feel as pronounced an improvement as Voldemort, as he was originally younger, but he still felt some of the vigor of youth. He rose and went downstairs. "Why Ron, you're up early today!" said Mrs. Weasley, who was making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Uh..." Rodolphus didn't know what to say. "Well, I just feel more energetic today."

"That's wonderful, dear. I'll have breakfast ready soon. In the meantime, I was going to have you de-gnome the garden today, and since you're up early why don't you go do that now."

Rodolphus grumbled in Ron's voice as he shuffled out to the backyard, found the garden, and set to work. He hated chores every bit as much as any teenager but he didn't want to give himself away just yet.

Elsewhere in the house, Bellatrix also woke up. Like Voldemort, her first impulse was to look at herself in the mirror. She went into the bathroom and examined Ginny's body. She was still beautiful; indeed, Ginny was possibly almost as beautiful as Bellatrix's original body had been before she went to Azkaban for the first time. After admiring herself in the mirror for a while Bellatrix dressed and also went downstairs. Of course, she was a bit early and only ended up having to help "Ron" de-gnome the garden.

She went outside, unhappy at the prospect of having to do work but hopeful to see a fellow Death Eater. She entered the garden just as "Ron" tossed a gnome over the wall. Approaching him, she whispered quietly, "I'm Bellatrix, which one are you?"

"Rodolphus," Ron's voice whispered back. "Who are the others?"

"Our Lord's taken Potter's body for himself. As for the others, it was left to chance."

Rodolphus and Bellatrix de-gnomed the garden together.

* * *

In another house far from the Burrow, Lucius Malfoy opened his eyes and looked about for any sign of his identity. He got up, noticing that he was more overweight than before and missing much of his hair. He rolled out of bed and proceeded to look for a mirror. He finally found one and looked.

Neville Longbottom's face looked back at him.

Lucius smirked to himself. Neville had been arguably the true hero of the recent war, the leader of the Dumbledore's Army resistance during the year before the final battle, the one who inspired children to stand against full-grown murderers with his bravery and also personally killed the Dark Lord's fearsome pet snake. Lucius would enjoy the spotlight. The Longbottoms were not particularly wealthy, but Lucius was confident he could make them so quite rapidly, taking advantage of his borrowed fame and courage. This was a promising life, and losing the Malfoy fortune – which was now besmirched with disgrace in the community, anyways – was not a terribly great price to pay for it.

Meanwhile, in Malfoy Manor...

Harry's eyes opened on a large, spacious room with no desk. The walls were all painted white, and the window wasn't where he remembered it to be. Quickly he realized that this wasn't the room he had gone to bed in last night.

_How did I get here?_

He decided to explore around. He slipped back the covers and sat on the side of the bed, looking for his glasses. Suddenly he realized that he could see clearly, despite not having glasses. He found his wand under his pillow and stood up, looking out the window. Outside there were no houses nearby; the nearest city seemed to be almost at the horizon. Harry turned back towards the door, pulling open the door with his left hand—

He stopped. Then, carefully, he examined his left arm, making sure he wasn't hallucinating. He touched the small picture of a skull with a snake coming from its mouth.

_No. This can't be!_ he thought. However, the Dark Mark stayed on his arm, no matter how he looked. He was a Death Eater. Then, as he examined his left arm further, he noticed that it ended in a gleaming silver hand. He knew whose hand that was.

_No! I'm trapped in Wormtail's body!_

Neville slowly stirred awake and opened his eyes. He was about to move to get up and dress, when he suddenly noticed that he was sleeping on a large king-sized bed, considerably larger than his own. He looked around the room and suddenly noticed a man sleeping next to him under the covers.

He blinked, wondering how he had come here. This was clearly not his own bedroom. The man next to him, however, did look vaguely familiar…

He decided to get up and explore the new house. Perhaps he could figure out where he was. As he dragged himself to a sitting position, he felt some extra weight dragging on his chest. He looked down—his eyes widened in shock—he noticed that he now had rather large breasts. He was wearing a red tank top and a thong, in place of his own pajamas that he had been wearing last night. Seeing that made him notice that he was missing a few parts from his lower region…

Neville screamed.

_No, this can't be…It has to be a dream…_

Neville pinched himself, seeing if he could wake from the "dream". But as he moved to pinch himself, he noticed something on his left arm. He pinched himself and nothing happened, but he quickly looked to see what was on his left arm.

It was a small picture of a snake coming out of a skull's mouth. A Dark Mark.

For the second time, Neville screamed.

_I'm not only a woman now, but I'm also a Death Eater?_

Suddenly Neville realized that he could figure out who he now was. Almost none of the Death Eaters were women. He knew of only one woman who qualified to serve the Dark Lord; he had seen her at the Department of Mysteries—

Bellatrix Lestrange!

_She tortured my parents!_

For the third time Neville freaked out.

The man beside him started to stir. Neville hurriedly repressed his scream, but it was too late—he had woken up the other person. The other man sat up and looked around as well, also with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he looked over and saw Neville—and froze.

They stared at each other for seemingly several minutes of silence.

"W-what were y-you screaming about?" the stranger asked Neville shakily.

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the other Hogwarts students who were waking up, Ginny was also in this same house. She awoke to find herself in an enormous king-size, plush four-poster bed, far bigger than the one she had in her room at home. It was easy for her to deduce that this wasn't her home. She got out of bed and looked around, finally finding a closet in the wall. She started to open it to look for clothing, but she suddenly noticed something wrong.

Her hand was large and ghostly pale, with long and spindly white fingers, certainly not the hand she had had when she went to bed the previous night.

She felt it urgently necessary to see herself in a mirror. She needed to find out whose body she was in. Fortunately, there was a door across the room that led to a bathroom. She hurried in and looked in the mirror.

A tall, gaunt figure, with all his skin uniformly white and showing the wrinkles of age, stared back at her with frightening red eyes. It was a figure recognized everywhere as Lord Voldemort.

Ginny screamed. And even then noticed that her scream, in Voldemort's voice, was strangely masculine.

"What was that?" Neville asked, in his room (that didn't really belong to him), as he heard the holler of fright from a nearby room. Neville almost recoiled in shock as he heard the sound of himself speaking. It was very different from his voice, and (as he realized) much more feminine.

"Uh…Let's find out." The man stood and went to a wardrobe standing in the corner, looking for some clothes. He pulled out a pair of pants, a shirt and a robe and dressed. Neville did the same. As he pulled on the robe that didn't belong to him, he noticed the other man apparently searching for something. After pulling on his robe, Neville realized that he needed something before he went to find the source of the other scream.

Suddenly Neville knew what the other man was looking for: a wand.

"You—you can't find your wand?" Neville asked matter-of-factly.

The man froze and looked up at him fearfully. "Uh…well…I, uh, kind of forgot where I—put it last night…" he trailed off.

Neville breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I don't know where mine is either. Let's look together." It was the stranger's turn to sigh in relief as he nodded and went back to searching.

After a few seconds of searching…

"Aha!" The stranger retrieved two wood sticks from inside the wardrobe he had taken his clothes from. He tossed one to Neville. "Alright, let's explore." They opened the door and walked out together, wands in hand…

When he stepped out, Neville noticed a darkened figure waiting in the corridor with his wand raised. "Stupefy!" the figure suddenly shouted.

Neville quickly replied, blocking the Stunning Spell with a shield.

"Sectumsempra!"

As Neville blocked the spells, he suddenly noticed the Death Eater mask and robes his opponent was wearing.

"Incarcerous! Incendio!" the Death Eater shouted as fast as he could. Neville shielded off the rope spell, but a stream of fire blasted out of the Death Eater's wand, setting Neville's robe on fire.

* * *

A few minutes previously…

Luna was jolted out of her blissful slumber by the loud scream of a woman's voice. She sat up hurriedly, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, she saw an apparently frightened woman sitting next to her in the bed. The woman stared back at her with shock-widened eyes. Luna froze. She had a definite feeling that she didn't belong here. That was especially confirmed when she glanced at the woman's arm and noticed the Dark Mark. With some trepidation, she checked her own arm and found that she, too, had a Dark Mark, although she also had considerably more hair on her arm than before. She knew this body did not belong to her.

_Am I having one of those dreams again?_ she thought. She occasionally dreamed of becoming other people, so she guessed that this might be a dream. However, by pinching herself discreetly she confirmed that it was not a dream, this time.

She thought quickly, deciding that the correct reaction to the scream would be to ask what had happened. "W-what were y-you screaming about?" she asked. She noticed that her voice was much deeper than normal. Her ploy worked—the other woman seemed to freeze again.

Suddenly there was another cry of fright somewhere else in the house.

"What was that?" the woman asked.

"Uh…let's find out!" Luna replied brightly, standing from the bed and walking over to a wardrobe in the corner. As she did so she noticed a few extra organs attached to her lower region. She wasn't surprised; she had already guessed that this was someone else's body. She looked through the wardrobe and found a suitable shirt, pants, and a robe, and quickly put them on. Then she realized that she didn't know where this person kept his wand.

_Damn. I guess I'll have to search._ She quickly started rummaging around, trying to discreetly feel under the pillows, then looking under the nightstand, in the drawer, hoping against hope that the other person wouldn't notice.

"You—you can't find your wand?"

_Damnit!_

"Uh…well…" Luna quickly tried to think up an excuse, but couldn't find one. "I, uh, kind of forgot where I put it last night…" She carefully concealed her fear. She was deathly afraid that the other Death Eater would realize that she wasn't the owner of this body and kill her, or worse.

"Well, I don't know where mine is either. Let's look together." Luna let out a breath she only just realized she had been holding and she more confidently returned to searching for the wand. She finally found two wands in the back of the wardrobe behind a pile of boxers.

"Aha!" She took the wand that felt more natural in her hand, throwing the other to the woman. "Alright, let's explore." They opened the door and walked out together. Luna looked to her right. A corridor, with several rooms, greeted her.

"Stupefy!" A voice came from her right. Luna jumped in surprise, and then heard the woman who had just been in bed next to her say "Protego!" and deflect the Stunning spell. She looked up and saw another Death Eater about ten feet away, throwing spells and curses at the woman. Luna watched her deflect each spell the attacking Death Eater sent, until the Death Eater managed to set her robe on fire with an Incendio spell. The woman started flailing helplessly.

Luna thought quickly. She surmised that her roommate might be in the same situation as herself, judging by the fact that they both had displayed fear when they saw each other and both had to search for their wands. Figuring that the other Death Eater was probably more likely to attack her next than was her roommate, she decided to help.

"Aguamenti!" The voice came from behind him. Neville turned and saw a spout of water emerge from the wand of his roommate (which he didn't realize was actually Luna). The water quickly extinguished the fire.

"Thanks!" Neville said.

"Stupefy!" Luna called, while acknowledging Neville with a nod (and not knowing it was Neville). The Death Eater put up a shield. Neville joined in, casting a body-bind which the Death Eater also blocked.

Suddenly another door in the hallway opened, between Neville and the Death Eater, and out stumbled Lord Voldemort himself! Yet Voldemort did not immediately help the Death Eater. Neville became puzzled, wondering why Voldemort was hesitating—and he noticed that roommate was equally puzzled. In fact, they were puzzled because neither of them realized who was really in Voldemort's body.

"Expelliarmus!" "Petrificus totalus!" Neville and Luna each said a spell at the same moment. The Death Eater fell, petrified.

Voldemort (or more precisely, Ginny in Voldemort's body) looked back and forth from the petrified Death Eater to the two other Death Eaters who had been dueling him. Herself unaware of the true identity of the victorious Death Eaters, but recognizing them from the previous battle at the Department of Mysteries, decided to act like (she hoped) a Dark Lord.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded shakily.

"Uh…" Neville and Luna both cowered before the Dark Lord. They, like the rest of the wizarding world, had heard of Voldemort's legendary cruelty and mistreatment of his Death Eaters. Both of them independently racked their brains for an excuse, under the mistaken impression that their lives were at stake.

* * *

What do you think? Please review!

Author's Note: This story was inspired by several stories I read where Hermione switches bodies with Snape or Draco. I noticed that few stories do large-scale body switching; usually they only involve two people. This story will be a twelve-way body switch eventually.


	2. More awakenings

Twelve-Way Body Switch

Summary: What happens when Voldemort deliberately traps Harry and his friends in the bodies of Death Eaters? Each of them is trapped in the body of the Death Eater they hate the most. And Voldemort and his Death Eaters now get to control Harry and his friends' bodies. If his plan goes off right, Voldemort (in Harry's body) would be hailed as the hero of the war while Harry & co will be arrested as Death Eaters!

REVISED/UPDATED – follows Book 7 up to Peter Pettigrew's death. In this version, Wormtail is not killed by his silver hand, and participates in the Final Battle as a Death Eater.

Chapter 2

"He attacked us!" Neville blurted out desperately.

Ginny looked skeptical, which made Voldemort's facial expression appear doubtful. She stared with Voldemort's red eyes at Rodolphus (actually, Luna) and Bellatrix (Neville), and both faces looked back on her with an expression of terror.

"I see," Ginny rasped, somewhat wishing that she could have her own voice, which sounded so much smoother than Voldemort's. "Then I must punish him."

Suddenly two other doors down the corridor opened and two Death Eaters stepped out. Stepping over their fallen comrade, they pointed their wands at Voldemort. "Impedimentia!" shouted one. "Sectumsempra!" shouted the other. Neville and Luna stared, eyes wide with shock and fear. Death Eaters had just attacked their Master!

Ginny raised Voldemort's yew wand, silently raising a Protego which blocked both curses. Neville and Luna were too shocked to move, and even if they could move, neither of them knew who they should help.

"Chiropteracosa!" hissed Voldemort's voice. Instantly, bats started to drop out of one Death Eater's nose. The swarm of bats attacked both Death Eaters. Neville and Luna watched, surprised, as Ginny repeated the Bat-Bogey Hex on the other Death Eater, then Stupefied both.

Luna quickly became suspicious of Voldemort. It seemed far out of character for the Dark Lord to not use Unforgivable Curses when given such an obvious opportunity. She thought, _Why didn't Voldemort use the killing curse or the Cruciatus? The Death Eaters were being disloyal!_

Suddenly she had a crazy idea, but it fit all the facts. She realized that the Bat-Bogey Hex was Ginny Weasley's favorite spell.

She shelved that idea for the moment as they heard another cry of fright from elsewhere in the house.

The Dark Lord and the two Death Eaters, none of them aware of who the other two were, rushed towards the direction of the sound. The voice sounded familiar to all three of them – though none could remember exactly where from.

The sound had come from inside one of the many bathrooms at Malfoy Manor, as they quickly deduced. Luna stepped up to the door and knocked a few times.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

A moment of silence.

"Yes, I-I'm fine," someone's voice replied, panting heavily.

"You don't sound fine," Luna said.

* * *

In a guest room in the Burrow, Peter Pettigrew woke up, free of the silver hand and the Dark Mark which he had regretted for seventeen years. He hated himself knowing that the Dark Lord had been right about him: it was fear, not loyalty, that had kept him on the side of the dark. He had turned against his friends all those years ago in a moment of anger and after that, he could never face them again, was too afraid to do what Severus Snape had done and make up for his single great error.

And so he was secretly glad when Voldemort had informed him of their backup plan after the final battle. An opportunity, at last, to escape his wretched existence. Whatever new identity he got, he had decided, he would alter his appearance and flee as far as he could, and hope that Voldemort would be thwarted in his next attempt to take over the world in the guise of Harry Potter.

But when the morning came, the dawn of his new life, Peter's high spirits sank just a little bit as he saw and felt the mass of brown hair splayed around his head. A quick look at himself in a nearby mirror confirmed his guess. He was now a she – and Hermione Granger's pretty brown eyes stared back at him, realizing the irony with a small smile.

So, Peter's plan might be just a little harder than he thought. Granger was one of the three most famous members of the Light Side, after all. On the other hand, he realized that when the Dark Lord had first informed his surviving followers about the body-switching scheme, he had never even thought about the possibility that he might become a girl. In hindsight, it was obvious that he should have been prepared for the possibility – there was a 50 percent chance, after all, since Potter's gang of six did include three girls. Peter had simply forgotten to consider the implications of transplanting into Ginny, Luna, or Hermione.

Yes, he was a coward, and perhaps he had gotten exactly what he deserved. Perhaps this was Fate telling him that he was no sort of man, indeed.

Nevertheless, Peter had a fresh start, and he would do his best to take full advantage of it.

* * *

"Voldemort," "Rodolphus," and "Bellatrix" paused in the hallway, each of them unsure what to do next. Finally, Ginny decided to take care of the three bodies in the hallway, levitating them all into a nearby room and binding them with ropes, and Silencing them for good measure. Taking off their Death Eater masks, Ginny did not recognize any of the three men, and so decided she would try to find out later. As she went about this, she also reflected on the Lestranges' odd behavior, thinking that they had tolerated a provocation by fellow Death Eaters remarkably well considering their high rank in the Death Eater hierarchy. Of course, Luna, disguised as Rodolphus, was thinking exactly the same thing about her, though neither of them had yet acted on their ideas.

Suddenly, Ginny recognized the voice that had cried out from the bathroom a few minutes earlier, realizing she had heard the mystery person's voice two years ago, at the Department of Mysteries. He had been the one ordering the other ones around when they had been trapped among the shelves of prophecies…

Lucius Malfoy.

She turned back towards "her" "Death Eaters" and knocked on the door, gently rasping out, "Malfoy, is that you?"

"My Lord!" the frightened response, "I'm… uh, using the… loo, …I'll be out in a few minutes" Malfoy's voice was disjointed, it sounded as if he was embarrassed at his words.

None of them knew that locked in that small bathroom inside that large bedroom, Ronald Weasley, stuck in Lucius Malfoy's body, was in fact frantically looking away from the mirror and trying to breathe deeply and calm himself down. It was Ron, indeed, who had screamed earlier upon finding himself transformed into the most despicable man in the world, and now the Dark Lord's voice on the other side of the door told him he must compose himself and not give himself away if he wanted to make it out alive.

A few minutes later, schooling a calm and passive expression onto his Malfoy face, Ron opened the bathroom door and strode out confidently, head held high, as he imagined Lucius might do. In reality, he was as nervous as he had been the last time he had been at Malfoy Manor a prisoner during the war. He had no idea how to impersonate Lucius, and yet he must.


	3. Luna Rolls the Dice

Twelve-Way Body Switch

Summary: What happens when Voldemort deliberately traps Harry and his friends in the bodies of Death Eaters? Each of them is trapped in the body of the Death Eater they hate the most. And Voldemort and his Death Eaters now get to control Harry and his friends' bodies. If his plan goes off right, Voldemort (in Harry's body) would be hailed as the hero of the war while Harry & co will be arrested as Death Eaters!

REVISED/UPDATED – follows Book 7 up to Peter Pettigrew's death. In this version, Wormtail is not killed by his silver hand, and participates in the Final Battle as a Death Eater.

Chapter 3

Just two doors down the hallway from the master bedroom where Ron Weasley was desperately blubbering his way in front of the harmless-but-intimidating Ginny-controlled Voldemort, the last of their friends had discovered her own similar situation as well. Awaking in a gangly, stubble-bearded man's body, Hermione Granger had just barely kept her wits enough to repress a scream, for it would be unwise to draw attention before she could find out where she was. Then she had found her way to a bathroom to see who she was.

She found just a little bit of humorous irony in her new identity, as well. Two years prior, it was Antonin Dolohov whose purple flame had almost killed her in her original body. (The fact that it was now Peter Pettigrew occupying her own body back in the Burrow, had she known, would have added to the irony.) Now his gaunt face and his dangerous wand belonged to her. At least until she could find a way to reverse the spell – which she planned to do, as soon as she could get safe access to a library. Recognizing that she was in Malfoy Manor, she thought it likely that the mansion would contain a library, but she might need to bluff past other Death Eaters first.

So she put on the nearest available black robes, and keeping one hand holding her wand inside those robes (in case someone saw through her), she quietly opened the door and tiptoed out into the hallway, looking both ways.

* * *

As for Dolohov himself, he laughed quietly to himself upon finding that the 50-percent odds of undergoing a gender change had indeed happened. He was now the proud tenant of a thin, graceful female form with long dirty-blonde hair, formerly owned by Luna Lovegood.

But Dolohov's mirth soon changed to disconcertedness when, in the process of changing out of his (actually Luna's) pajamas in order to put on a robe and venture out, he suddenly noticed spots of red staining the central part of the pajama bottoms. With a start he realized that Luna's time-of-month must have started, and panic soon set in as he felt more and more blood trickling down his legs, soaking into the bright yellow carpet at his feet.

Scrambling around the room searching for Luna's wand, which he finally found under the pillows on the bed, Dolohov hurriedly conjured a small bucket, holding it below his crotch as he ran to find the nearest bathroom. He had completely forgotten about this downside of being a woman.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Malfoy Manor, the real Luna, stuck in the form of Rodolphus Lestrange, contemplated her craziest theory yet: that the Dark Lord in front of her was in fact her friend Ginny stuck in someone else's body, just as she herself was. If she was right, then there was no telling how many people's identities had been switched; it would mean that both Voldemort and Lestrange had probably taken over her and Ginny's bodies and, based on her earlier astute observations of Bellatrix's uncertain demeanor, even she might have switched with someone as well. That would certainly explain the scuffle they had gotten into earlier that morning; perhaps the other Death Eaters knew about the switch, and it was all a plot to allow Voldemort to wreak havoc while disguised as Ginny, and people close to Ginny – like Luna – were also switched to prevent them from being in a position to be suspicious of the new "Ginny"'s strange behavior.

The whole situation already seemed implausible enough in the first place, and Luna was not so insane as to fail to recognize how crazy her idea was. While Ginny was the one person who most frequently used the Bat-Bogey Hex, she was not the only one; other students too were known to use it on occasion. But Luna knew she could not impersonate the notorious Rodolphus Lestrange for long if this was really Voldemort in front of her. She was bound to be exposed sooner or later. With that thought, she resolved to gamble like a Gryffindor and confront the putative Dark Lord.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," Luna greeted the supposed Lucius Malfoy emerging from the bathroom, before turning to the supposed Voldemort. "My Lord," she said quietly, "I need to speak with you in private…" gesturing towards the door to the hallway as she did so.

Ginny stiffened instantly as she perceived Rodolphus Lestrange asking to speak to her privately; she feared, of course, that Rodolphus might have guessed her false identity for whatever reason and was going to kill her the moment they were alone. But then again, he might also reveal useful information to her. After a moment's hesitation, Ginny consented with a nod, stepping out into the hallway and then to the room directly across. As she pushed open the door, she also drew her wand, and once "Rodolphus" followed her in, she locked and Silenced the door. While this was a plausible excuse for her to have drawn her wand, she did not put her wand away after casting the Silencing Charm, for her real purpose was to have her wand out in case Rodolphus saw through her.

Luna suspected precisely this, and knew that whatever fighting chance of escape she might have had if necessary was gone; Voldemort, if it really was him, had the drop on her. But nevertheless, she couldn't back down now.

"You needed to speak with me?" rasped the Dark Lord's wheezing voice.

Luna cleared her throat and planned her next words carefully.

"My Lord, I did not wish to say this in the presence of the others, but I thought you deserved to know…"

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange?"

"My Lord," said Luna, speaking evenly in Rodolphus's voice, "there is a Wrackspurt sitting on your forehead."

The look on Lord Voldemort's face was priceless.

* * *

Author's Note: Chapters will be short and timing inconsistent due to me being very busy; I'm using this as a break from work. Hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger. :) Reviews always appreciated! :)


	4. The Westermarck Effect, circumvented

Twelve Way Body Switch (!)

Chapter 4

_From the previous chapter…_

Ginny, in the guise of Voldemort, glowered with a neutral expression down at the oddly calm face of Rodolphus Lestrange, a slight sound of him clearing his throat the only indication that Rodolphus had the least trace of fear. _Good, he's still at least a little bit afraid_, Ginny thought. Then he began speaking, "My Lord, I did not wish to say this in the presence of the others, but I thought you deserved to know…"

Rodolphus took a breath, seemingly about to reveal something important.

"Yes, Mr. Lestrange?" prompted Ginny.

"My Lord…there is a Wrackspurt sitting on your forehead."

Ginny could only stare in shock as she heard the words spoken to her, by a veteran Death Eater. A moment later, her heart leaped as she connected the dots, remembering her earlier passing thought about the Lestranges' mild behavior, and now hearing the deadly Mr. Lestrange saying something completely unexpected from him, something that she would've more expected to hear from a certain trusted friend of hers. But she remained cautious, thinking it prudent to be absolutely sure of her good fortune before acting on it. What were the chances, after all, of having _more than one_ body switch going on at the same time?

* * *

Meanwhile, Luna fought to keep her expression neutral, having to suppress a smile as she gazed up into the utterly flabbergasted face of Lord Voldemort himself. She wasn't out of the woods just yet, she knew. Once Voldemort recovered from his shock, she would soon find out if he was himself or not.

* * *

Ginny now continued to act the part of a Dark Lord taken aback. "I beg your pardon?" she rasped, as if unsure of what she had heard.

"There is a Wrackspurt on your forehead… Sir." Luna repeated her statement.

"I see," Ginny said neutrally. The fact that Ginny had her wand out while her counterpart did not made her slightly more willing to show her hand first, since if it turned out to be Rodolphus she could stun him easily. And if it was Luna, then it would be understandable that Luna would not wish to tip her hand while unable to defend herself. Indeed, Luna would have already gone out on a limb by saying even that much, and so Ginny figured it was probably up to her to drop the next hint. So, she asked, "Are there any _other_ unwanted creatures in our presence which we should be worrying about?" and to make sure her classmate would get the hint (if it was in fact her classmate – Ginny still wouldn't get her hopes up too prematurely), she added, "…after all, we don't want any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks eavesdropping on us while we talk strategy, now do we?"

* * *

Back at the Burrow, the real Rodolphus, in Ron's body, turned to Bellatrix (now disguised as Ginny).

"You know, Bella," he said quietly, with a small smirk, "Just because we look younger and prettier doesn't mean we're not still married…"

Having understood his meaning perfectly, Bellatrix stifled a laugh, turning to her husband with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Oh, Merlin, imagine their reactions when they catch on to us," and at this, Rodolphus had to suppress a snort of his own, clamping a mouth over his hand as both he and his wife shook with silent laughter.

"Let's not get caught just yet," Rodolphus finally said when he managed to calm down, "they'll probably try to stop us." He nodded his head towards a remote corner of the garden with some concealing shrubbery, then ambled off with Ron's long stride, doing his best not to look suspicious by rushing too anxiously. Bellatrix quickly ran to follow him. And so the couple, husband and wife disguised as brother and sister, set off to find a suitably secluded place for their intentions.

* * *

As soon as she heard Voldemort say "Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Luna was almost certain her gamble had paid off. But it seemed prudent to check just one more time to be sure, on the off-chance it was still actually Voldemort or even another Death Eater playing along in Voldemort's body. So Luna looked around the room as if looking for her creatures, before turning back to Voldemort and answering seriously, "No, I don't see any Snorkacks around, just the Wrackspurt. That explains something, too, I noticed Bellatrix was acting a little bit odd this morning. I think it was the Wrackspurt's influence."

Deciding that Luna had now made it as obvious as she could possibly be expected to risk, Ginny decided it was best to finally put her friend at ease. "You were very brave to reveal yourself," she said, somehow making the Dark Lord's hissing voice sound kind and friendly. "Was it those Bat-Bogeys that gave it away? That was stupid of me to use them in front of you, but I'm so glad to see you here, Luna." At her friend's knowing smile, Ginny put her wand away and stepped forward to embrace Luna in a slightly awkward hug. Back when they had known each other in their original bodies, they had been close to the same height, but now Voldemort's imposing height stood clearly above Rodolphus's. Here was an amazing sight, had anyone been there to see it: the Dark Lord himself, acting affectionately towards one of his subjects.

"I'm glad it was you, Ginny," whispered Luna into her suddenly taller friend's shoulder.

* * *

Down the hallway in Malfoy Manor…

Just as Hermione passed by the last two doors before reaching the stairs at the end of the hallway, the door to her left suddenly opened right behind her and she whirled around, almost losing her balance in Dolohov's larger body, instinctively leveling her wand at the squat, rotund figure who emerged. But at the same time, the short man leveled his wand at her, apparently with the same instinctive defensive reaction, and suddenly, she was staring down at him, their wands' tips only an inch apart. A few seconds later, having reached a standoff, Hermione got a good look at the man's face, and she would know it anywhere. He, too, seemed to recognize her. And then she noticed the glint of the silver hand which was holding the wand pointed at her.

"Sorry, Peter," she said, "you startled me." Trying to defuse the situation, she slowly drew her wand back to put it away, watching him carefully to be sure he did the same before she put hers away completely.

* * *

Moments earlier…

Finally coming to terms with his new situation, Harry realized he could not hide in Wormtail's room forever, and needed to get out and do something about it. So, wand clutched firmly in silver hand, Harry pulled open the door – startling the tall Death Eater who was just walking by. The Death Eater whirled around and Harry's battle-honed reflexes took over as he took a step forward, raising his wand, ending up wandtip-to-wandtip with the other man as he cursed his bad luck.

But then, as the heat of the moment died down, Harry remembered that he was now Wormtail, and thus (temporarily) on the same side as the Death Eater, whom he now recognized as Antonin Dolohov once he got a good look at the guy's face. Dolohov evidently recognized him as well, as his expression softened a bit. "Sorry, Peter," he started to lower his wand, "you startled me."

"Sorry, D-Dolohov," Harry responded, slowly lowering his wand as well. He had hesitated a bit unsure as to whether Wormtail and Dolohov had been on a first name basis or not, and had decided the last name was safer, since Wormtail wasn't particularly respected among the Death Eaters, being a known coward.

They watched each other awkwardly, both realizing they were watching to make sure the other man actually put away his wand. Simultaneous disarmament, obviously.

Shortly afterwards, wands away, Harry realized his – Wormtail's – now his – stomach was growling. "So…" he said awkwardly, "what's for breakfast?

The mention of breakfast instantly reminded Hermione that she had forgotten about something, and now her own new stomach rumbled, too. She decided she could afford to eat something before heading for the library. "Why don't you tell me, Peter?"

The two unknowing friends, by silent agreement, headed downstairs, where the kitchen was likely to be.

* * *

Back in the garden at the Burrow…

"Ron! Ginny! Where are you? Breakfast's read—"

The voice fell silent as its owner peered around the hedgerow to see what looked like Ron and Ginny locked in a passionate embrace on the grass. "Ginny" was on her back, her unbuttoned blouse splayed out to both sides, pulling a shirtless "Ron" down on top of her. His hand was tangled in her hair as they moaned loudly into each other's lips, while her fingers unzipped his trousers below.

Until the two redheads froze, sensing someone's presence – then slowly, reluctantly, broke their kiss and looked up.

* * *

Author's Note: As noted before, updates may be sporadic. Reviews always appreciated. Hope you liked this cliffhanger, too. :)


	5. I once was lost

Twelve-Way Body Switch

Summary: What happens when Voldemort deliberately traps Harry and his friends in the bodies of Death Eaters? Each of them is trapped in the body of the Death Eater they hate the most. And Voldemort and his Death Eaters now get to control Harry and his friends' bodies. If his plan goes off right, Voldemort (in Harry's body) would be hailed as the hero of the war while Harry & co will be arrested as Death Eaters!

REVISED/UPDATED – follows Book 7 up to Peter Pettigrew's death. In this version, Wormtail is not killed by his silver hand, and participates in the Final Battle as a Death Eater.

Chapter 5

"Alright, Luna, we need a plan," Ginny returned to their perilous situation, which at least she now had a trusted ally to share with. "How do we get out of here and warn our friends about, you know…" she still wasn't quite sure what to call their unlikely predicament.

"Maybe we need to do something about those guys out in the hallway?" Luna suggested lightly, her characteristic quiet ring of truth evident even through Rodolphus's voice.

"Definitely. Did you mention just now that Bellatrix was…"

"...was acting strange, yes," Luna finished Ginny's sentence. "We know they've stolen at least two of our bodies, do you think maybe…"

"...that they switched Merlin knows how many of us…" Ginny picked up on the point as well, trailing off as the full understanding of the mind-boggling possibilities hit her. "Oh. My. Merlin. This is going to get complicated."

Both girls, trapped in male form, paused for a moment as they took in the situation.

"Okay," Ginny started, "We need to figure out exactly who's outside in the hallway right now. We'll call them in, one at a time, and interrogate them… wish we had some Veritaserum…"

* * *

In the garden of the Burrow…

A tidal wave of relief washed over both of the Lestranges once they finally looked up to discover that they had been caught by none other than Harry Potter, sent by Mrs. Weasley to fetch Ron and Ginny for breakfast. For they both knew, unlike the other Weasleys, that this Potter was not the boy hero, but in fact their own Dark Lord in disguise. And so the couple fixed themselves up with sheepish smiles in front of their increasingly amused master, Rodolphus putting on his shirt again and Bellatrix buttoning herself up and hiding the bite marks on her neck with a small glamour charm. Voldemort meanwhile could not resist a chuckle at the implications of what he had just seen. Without even asking, he knew exactly which two of his Death Eaters these were.

It had generally been an open secret among the top tier of Death Eaters that Bellatrix and Rodolphus occasionally included the Dark Lord in their bedroom activities; that was how much they loved their master. But now things were different; they were among their former enemies, who would see them not as Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Rodolphus, but rather as Harry, Ginny, and Ron – and now all three of them suddenly burst into laughter simultaneously as the same ridiculous idea occurred to them.

"Perhaps tonight, my Lord," murmured Bellatrix, winking at her master as she headed off towards the large structure of the Burrow, closely followed by Rodolphus, who flashed a lecherous grin as he walked past the Dark Lord before putting up a neutral expression to avoid being seen by anyone else.

It would have added to the irony had any of them known that Harry had, in fact, been planning to marry Ginny quite soon. Even after Voldemort's clever body-switching stratagem, that marriage actually still made sense for them, in a wonderfully twisted sort of way.

* * *

Back at Malfoy Manor…

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, "Lucius" (Ron) and "Bellatrix" (Neville) were left in awkward silence, waiting for "Rodolphus" and the "Dark Lord" to finish whatever important private discussion they were having. Finally, Voldemort stepped out of the room and approached them.

"Mrs. Lestrange, come here. I need to ask you something, in private."

Had any actual Death Eaters been present, they would have noticed Ginny's blunder. Voldemort had never, ever been known to address any of the Lestranges so formally, especially not Bellatrix. No, the real Voldemort always called her "Bella" and her husband "Rodolphus."

But Neville, having no such intimate knowledge of Voldemort's normal behavior, also had no way to know that "Voldemort" was addressing Bellatrix any differently than usual today. So he gulped down his fear and followed the Dark Lord into the room, ready for anything.

* * *

Neville nervously followed "Voldemort" into the same room into which he had just seen his supposed "husband" "Rodolphus" disappear, hand clutching wand tightly as he feared that Rodolphus may have realized he wasn't Bellatrix and reported him right to the Dark Lord himself. But he could not ask without completely giving himself away on the spot, and since he wasn't sure he had been exposed yet, he decided it was most wise to obey the Dark Lord unquestioningly, as he assumed Bellatrix would have done in her almost-obsequious devotion.

Once Neville entered the room, "Voldemort" now proceeded to lock and Silence the door with his wand. "Mrs. Lestrange," the Dark Lord's voice addressed him, and Neville hung onto every word nervously...

...only to suddenly feel himself turn rigid and topple backwards to the floor, victim of a Full Body-Bind Curse that he hadn't had the slightest inkling was coming. His heart seized with fear as he realized he must have been hit from behind – just as "Rodolphus" emerged from under a Disillusionment Charm several feet behind where he had been facing "Voldemort" intently. Neville instantly deduced that his worst fear had been correct – he must not have acted enough like Bellatrix that morning and been discovered. Voldemort had distracted him in front while Rodolphus got him in the back. Of course they were smart enough not to give him a chance to fight back.

* * *

Above the petrified "Bellatrix," Ginny and Luna shared a relieved look; the first and most risky part of their plan had gone off without a hitch. Even together, the two of them could never have beaten Bellatrix in a fight if the lady Death Eater ever got her wand out (and if it had really been Bellatrix, of course). Now, Ginny moved the putative Bellatrix over to the wall and took her wand with a silent _Expelliarmus_, after which Luna conjured ropes and bound her up. "Not a sound," whispered Ginny to the prisoner, "or you die." Then she released the Full Body-Bind, and her prisoner squirmed a bit against the ropes, but they held fast.

Luna now stepped up to play her part, pointing her wand menacingly at her supposed "wife." "Who are you and what have you done with my Bellatrix?" she ground out through clenched teeth, making Rodolphus sound as angry as she could. With any luck, it would turn out to be one of their friends.

* * *

Neville knew his only chance at getting out of this one would be to bluff them somehow, act like he didn't know what they were talking about and hope Rodolphus didn't ask him anything that only Bellatrix would know (though seeing that Rodolphus was already suspicious he knew his odds were exceedingly dim). So he did his best to put up an expression of blank confusion. "Rodolphus?" he tried to sound puzzled, "what's going on?"

* * *

"Don't play dumb," Luna hissed, waving her wand threateningly. "Are you an Order member? If I have to use Veritaserum, you are going to die _very_ _slowly and painfully_." Of course, Luna would do no such thing, in fact she was slightly disturbed to find that she was starting to enjoy putting on the act. And she was totally bluffing; she and Ginny had no Veritaserum nor any idea where it would have been kept in Malfoy Manor, but were hoping to derive credibility from their evil faces as Rodolphus and the Dark Lord.

As the two girls had anticipated, "Bellatrix" said nothing, maintaining her innocent expression, and so they put the real test into motion. Luna looked back at Ginny and they both nodded once; Ginny backed away to the opposite wall of the room and leaned there, watching lazily with a disinterested expression. Luna turned back to her purported "wife" and, slashing her wand down, yelled, "CRUCIO!"

Secretly, she was glad that the incantation alone had no effect when used with no intention of actual pain, having once overheard the real Bellatrix (oh, the irony!) teaching younger Death Eaters how to cast an effective Cruciatus during her previous wartime imprisonment in the Malfoy Manor basement. Even in her new body, Luna still twitched slightly at the memories; how those younger Death Eaters, with Bellatrix's guidance, had proceeded to practice their Crucios on her and on her cellmate, harmless old Ollivander.

_flashback_

_The indignant old man had previously refused to give those Death Eaters what they wanted (namely, his screams of pain) and had been succeeding until the Death Eaters managed to improve their technique. When they finally got Ollivander to scream, he had been so embarrassed that he broke down sobbing on her shoulder as soon as the Death Eaters left. It was terribly humiliating to the old man's self-respect that he had been unable to resist the Cruciatus even as well as a sixteen-year-old girl._

_Luna decided to make the kindly old man feel better, and reassured her fellow prisoner that everyone had their moments of weakness. When the Death Eaters came back a few days later to practice on her again, she purposely screamed as loud as she possibly could. The Death Eater was an eager young man, scarcely older than she was; he was so pleased at the apparent success of his Cruciatus that he lost his concentration, turning to his "teacher" Bellatrix with a pleased expression. Of course, Luna hid her amusement at noticing that the pain had slackened, and continued to scream her head off until the Death Eaters left. Afterwards, she was pleased to see that Mr. Ollivander seemed considerably less angry at himself._

_It was after several more weeks of that treatment that Dobby the house-elf found them and rescued them, along with all the other prisoners._

However much Luna might enjoy acting like Rodolphus, she knew in her heart that she would never be able to cast a real Cruciatus Curse. Now that she knew firsthand, she could never wish that kind of pain on anyone.

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the longer chapter, unfortunately not all of them will be this long as I'm busy nowadays. Reviews always appreciated! :)


	6. but now am found

Chapter 6

"Bellatrix" flinched at the unexpected curse and tensed up against the wall as if trying to resist the pain, but a few moments later, realized there had been no pain at all – and Luna caught the brief look of panic on her victim's face. That sequence told Luna all she needed to know, and she broke out into a wide smile. "Okay, you are definitely not Bellatrix," she said, with a bit of humor in her voice. "You obviously haven't been tortured much, judging by your reaction. That wasn't even an actual Cruciatus, and Bellatrix loves that curse."

Then she kneeled down, whispering into her victim's ear, "Want to know a secret? I'm not Rodolphus either. My name is Luna Lovegood, and I woke up in this body earlier this morning, just like you. And that's not Voldemort over there, either. So tell me who you are, we'll work together to get out of this, I promise?"

"Bellatrix" still hesitated, because Neville was still unsure as to whether Rodolphus was trying to trick him into revealing his identity and thereby ending any motivation to keep him alive.

Seeing "Bellatrix" with a hesitant expression, Luna attempted to persuade her with logic. "Look, if you don't believe me, what else can you do? If I'm really Rodolphus, then you're going to die today no matter what you tell me. Your only chance to live, is to hope I'm not him. So really, what do you have to lose?"

Neville decided there was one way he could find out whether this was really Luna speaking with Rodolphus's voice. "Cast me a Patronus charm and I'll tell you," he said quietly.

"Oh, so you're someone who knows me," Luna deduced unerringly. "Well… what if Patronuses are tied to the body, not the spirit? What if I can't make you my old hare Patronus? Then we've gotten nowhere." She paused for a moment, suddenly realizing something. "Wait, you knew my Patronus was a hare, didn't you. The only people who have seen my Patronus are the DA members, and only a few of them would have bothered to remember Loony Lovegood's Patronus form."

"Bellatrix" looked up at "Rodolphus" cautiously, waiting, as Luna took a breath and made another leap of faith.

"So tell me," she said calmly, "are you Harry, Neville, Hermione, or Ron?"

Neville stared in shock at the accuracy of his captor's guess, and soon realizing that Rodolphus was not acting like Rodolphus at all, had to accept the possibility that this was, in fact, his friend Luna. Except...

"Wait a minute," he said in sudden realization, "how do you know I'm not Ginny?"

Luna's answer was to point over her shoulder, at the "Voldemort" in the opposite corner of the room. Neville's mouth formed an "o" in revelation for just a moment, before he began to laugh, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation finally catching up to him and overtaking him.

Downstairs in the kitchens, Harry thought it somewhat odd that his "comrade" "Dolohov" was simply helping himself to bread and jam. Where were the house elves? Yet Harry had not known the names of any Malfoy elves to attempt calling – nor would it have been any use, since all the Malfoy elves had been sent to Narcissa's home in France. And when "Dolohov" did not attempt to call an elf either, Harry assumed that making any comment would be dangerous given his low status as "Wormtail," and so said nothing. After a moment's hesitation, Harry followed suit and grabbed some food.

Of course, Hermione had not attempted to call any house elves for precisely the same reason – but after an awkward staring match with "Wormtail" in the middle of the cavernous kitchen, she had realized he would not be taking any kind of initiative, and so she did, by moving to the nearest cupboards and opening them. She was on edge for a different reason: the grandfather clock in the dining room was about to strike nine (and did, within a few minutes), and she still hadn't seen anyone else except "Wormtail" in the entire place. But the source of her worries was quickly diverted about ten minutes later, as she and her companion were almost finishing their toast, several knocks sounded on the front door. An amplified voice rang through the mansion:

"This is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We have you surrounded. Come out of the front door quietly with your hands in the air. You have ten minutes."

"Oh, no," moaned Neville.


	7. Out of the frying pan

Chapter 7

Meanwhile, two floors above, Ginny, Luna, and Neville were making rapid progress with their predicament. The same trick they had used with Neville, they now applied to "Lucius," who was soon confirmed to be Ron; then they confronted the three "Death Eaters" whom they had defeated earlier in the morning. The three men, being in actuality Snachers with no real allegiance to Voldemort, and being at the wrong end of their opponents' wands, had readily confessed everything as soon as they heard the Aurors outside, helped along by Neville's promise to testify in their favor as soon as he got his identity restored.

So with this helpful information, the four friends now knew that Harry and Hermione must be somewhere in the manor.

Rushing down the stairs, Neville found the final two unidentified Death Eaters at breakfast. The sight of food made them realize they had neglected to eat in all the hubbub of the morning, but there was no time for it now.

"Dolohov, Wormtail! We need to get out of here. Come on!" Neville called out in Bellatrix's voice, motioning to the two figures whom he hoped (but could not be sure) were Harry and Hermione. Acting in character, they rushed to follow him up the stairs, where they were promptly hit with a stunner to the back each, then an _Incarcerous_, by the disillusioned Ron and Luna.

A brief bit of rejoicing followed once all six of the Dumbledore's Army members had confirmed their identities. Ginny's _Tempus_ showed they had five minutes to find a way out of their predicament. Once aware of the situation, Harry had a solution immediately.

"I saw Professor McGonagall use a Patronus charm to send messages to other Order members right before the battle," he remembered. He turned to his familiar silver stag Patronus, who looked up at him expectantly, recognizing him even in Wormtail's body and voice. "Prongs, I need you to send a message to… hmm…" Harry trailed off as he realized that most of the Order survivors were probably participating in the siege right outside, and that Voldemort was probably there in his body, and if he saw Prongs deliver the message to any Order member they would all be in grave danger.

Harry turned to his friends. "The whole Order is probably out there waiting for us, we need to warn them about the Death Eaters in our bodies. But they're probably there too, and if my warning gets delivered in front of Voldemort, we're fucked."

Four minutes left.

"If only Dobby had made it," mused Ron in the ironic voice of Malfoy, "we could get him to get us all out like last time…"

"House elves," Dolohov's gruff voice was strangely devoid of foreign accent, and Harry had to remind himself it was Hermione speaking, "Harry, call Kreacher! See if he can whisper to the Order members for us. Maybe we can get Voldemort by surprise!" Dolohov's voice had never sounded so excited, not during the last five decades when Dolohov had owned it.

Three and a half minutes left.

"Kreacher!"

Pop.

"How can I serve Mas…"

Kreacher suddenly stopped, realizing he had just appeared in the middle of a circle of Death Eaters. But as a house elf, he recognized his master's magic, regardless of physical appearance.

"…Master?" Kreacher stared at the Peter Pettigrew-version of his Master Harry, complete with silver hand, then at the surrounding Death Eaters whom he recognized – Dolohov, both Lestranges, Malfoy, then the Dark Lord himself – something seemed different about them, but he wasn't sure what.

"Kreacher, it's me, Harry. I need your help. Outside, right now, Voldemort and his people have stolen our bodies, and tricked our Order friends into coming to arrest us. I need you to stay invisible and find everyone in the Order who's outside, and whisper them a message for me…"

* * *

Outside Malfoy Manor, among a group of Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt stood ready, waiting for (what he thought were) the Death Eaters to hopefully come out and surrender peacefully. Nearby, "Harry Potter" (or so everyone thought) looked anxious for some action, fidgeting with the end of his wand in his pocket. And the truth was, "Harry" couldn't wait to go inside and claim the credit for killing "Voldemort" – whom only he knew was in fact the Golden Boy himself, trapped in the body of the condemned Dark Lord next to his friends. Voldemort was finally going to achieve the fame and glory he had always wanted, and it would be by making the whole world think he, as "Harry," had killed _himself_, of all people! Looking forward to a lifetime of being the Chosen One, which he could hopefully leverage to gain the ultimate power he wanted, Voldemort could barely contain his excitement. He would live "Harry Potter"'s life better than Potter himself could ever have done. He would use this new identity to its full potential, and through manipulation rather than force, rule the world as he had sought for decades.

Kingsley whipped around when he heard a voice suddenly whisper into his ear – there was no one there.

"Master Shacklebolt, quiet," hissed the voice. "I bring you message from Master Harry Potter. Don't look at him," the voice seemed to anticipate Kingsley's head turning to look at "Harry" and with a small shake Kingsley restrained himself, "Don't draw attention. Stay calm and do not let anyone see you react to what I am about to tell you." Kingsley subtly moved a hand up to his shoulder to try to feel for any invisible presence, but his hand passed through thin air.

Kreacher was, in fact, weightlessly standing on Kingsley's shoulder, and simply sidestepped over the sweep of Kingsley's hand, while continuing to speak the message Harry had ordered him to give. "The Dark Lord used a secret spell to steal Harry Potter's body. The Dark Lord, and his Death Eaters, inside that manor, are actually Harry and his friends, trapped in our enemies' bodies. Harry asks you to secretly lift the wards to allow his escape, then you will have time to organize with the rest of the Order to catch the Dark Lord by surprise."

* * *

Two minutes left.

Through Wormtail's eyes, Harry watched anxiously from a window on the third floor of the former Malfoy house, as Kingsley walked a few feet from his spot facing the front door, over to where Professor Filius Flitwick had his wand raised in the air, checking the anti-Apparation wards he had cast over the Malfoy Manor grounds just eight minutes ago to make sure they were still up. Kingsley knelt down to whisper to Flitwick, they conferred for a few moments then Kingsley returned to his position, leaving behind a subtle notice-me-not charm on Flitwick's wand.

One minute left.

"Okay, see if we can Apparate," Harry said, turning back to the group.

* * *

Ten seconds left. Nine… Eight… Seven…

Kingsley watched his timer run out, then yelled out to the assembled Order. "Go, go!" The designated assault group – Kingsley, "Harry," Bill, Charlie, Fleur, Horace Slughorn, Sturgis Podmore, and Dedalus Diggle – charged towards the enormous front door, firing _Reducto_s and Killing Curses to blast through any possible disillusioned traps or ambushers along the path. There were none, and the undefended front door – with wards already disabled – imploded under the impact of the curses, falling to the floor of the entryway in a massive cloud of dust. Several other Order members trailed behind, ready to either enter the house to aid the first wave in the attack or stop the trapped Death Eaters from escaping out the windows.

* * *

Three tense hours went by as the Order searched the entire mansion, forcing open every door one by one, checking for traps and hostile spells every inch of the way. Three bound and disarmed Snatchers were arrested and portkeyed off to the Ministry in their ropes. No one else was found in the house.


End file.
